A Cupboard Full of Coats

by Yvette Edwards

Fourteen years earlier Jinx's mother died at the hands of an abusive partner. In the present, matters come to a head, and as the secrets and lies of the past begin to reveal themselves, Jinx finally begins the process of healing and resolution. An impending sense of tragedy looms over the reader making the reading experience sometimes uncomfortable but at the same time engrossing.

Extract

It had been inevitable from the moment he dragged his sopping carcass into our living room. Even though I knew it was a waste of time, I had still harboured the faintest of hopes that he'd brought Lemon around to help him pack, but of course, he hadn't. Lemon had come to beg on Berris' behalf for my mother's forgiveness. His presence was needed to stop her phoning the police in a panic, thinking Berris had returned to the house to finish her off. He was there to act as a peacemaker, to keep the discussion calm, to hand Berris the occasional tissue, to keep me occupied so that the two of them could have privacy for their Big People Talk.